What is the method to interpret a 1:150 scale drawing?

To interpret a 1:150 scale drawing, 1 unit on the drawing represents 150 units in real life.

When you come across a 1:150 scale drawing, it means that every measurement on the drawing is 150 times smaller than the actual size. For example, if a wall is 2 centimetres long on the drawing, it would be 2 cm × 150 = 300 cm, or 3 metres, in real life. This scaling helps to fit large objects, like buildings or landscapes, onto a manageable piece of paper.

To work with this scale, you can use a ruler to measure distances on the drawing and then multiply those measurements by 150 to find the real-world size. Conversely, if you know the real-world size and want to find out how it would appear on the drawing, you would divide the real-world measurement by 150. For instance, if a garden is 30 metres long in real life, it would be 30 m ÷ 150 = 0.2 m, or 20 centimetres, on the drawing.

Understanding scale drawings is crucial in fields like architecture, engineering, and geography, where accurate representations of large objects are necessary. It allows professionals to plan and visualise projects effectively. For GCSE Maths, mastering this concept can help you solve problems related to scale factors, ratios, and proportional reasoning, which are key topics in the curriculum.